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'Flirt' gunning for Saddam

‘CARNIVORE’, ‘Creeping Death’ and ‘All You Can Eat 120mm’ are just three of the names emblazoned on the Abrams tanks of the US 3rd Infantry Division as they rumble through Iraq, writes John Elliott.

Stencilled onto the gun barrels of other tanks are the flight numbers of the airliners hijacked on September 11.

Painting names or gory slogans on the sides of tanks can have a serious function. Monikers such as ‘Anthrax’ and ‘Apocalypse’ can be used as radio call signs. Often chosen randomly — though sometimes with the first letter corresponding to a particular unit — they are unlikely to make sense on intercepted radio messages.

Commanders have the last word on what is acceptable. Slogans such as ‘Baghdad or Bust’ and ‘Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue’ are seen as boosting esprit de corps.

For the British, the practice of naming tanks dates back to their introduction in 1916,